• Gift Catalog
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
Call Us: 800-487-1074
Global Volunteers
  • Countries
    • International Partnerships:
      • China
      • Cook Islands
      • Cuba
      • Ecuador
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Nepal
      • Peru
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • St Lucia
      • Tanzania
      • Vietnam
    • USA Programs:
      • Appalachia – West Virginia
      • Blackfeet Reservation – Montana
      • Rosebud Reservation – South Dakota
      • Española – New Mexico
  • Projects
  • Give
    • Giving Options:
      • Donate Now
      • Gift Catalog
      • Ways to Give
      • Philanthropy
  • Impact
  • Blog
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Development Impact, Reaching Children's Potential Tanzania

EarthBox® Project Improves Food Security in Tanzania

Food in Tanzania

Through its Reaching Children’s Potential (RCP) Program, Global Volunteers works towards the eradication of hunger in Tanzania. Food security is a multi-faceted issue that must be addressed on multiple levels in order to combat hunger. In Tanzania, several projects aim to increase the level of food security of RCP families. One of those is providing EarthBoxes to families so they can grow their own vegetables at home with this innovative technology. Read on to learn about how food insecurity affects Tanzanian families and improvements in nutrition through the EarthBox Project.


The United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security defines food security as having physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets people’s food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. The United Nations reports that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of hunger, and has set ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030. Global Volunteers works in special consultative status with the UN and towards these SDGs.

Food Security in the Ukwega Ward

Food insecurity in the Ukwega Ward in Tanzania, home to Global Volunteers’ RCP Program, is a grave issue. Our research shows that nearly 40 percent of children in the villages where we work are stunted, which is directly linked to food insecurity. Many families have access to starches — such as millet, sorghum, cornmeal, plantains, and cassava. Tanzanians commonly eat ugali, a stiff dough made of cassava flour, cornmeal (maize), and either millet or sorghum. Ugali is usually served with a sauce made with meat, beans, fish, or cooked vegetables. Many families in the RCP program report that they consume very little meat. RCP mother Doris Chabruma describes her family’s diet: “We always have ugali, beans, vegetables, rice, cooked plantains, sweet potatoes, and cassava for lunch and dinner. We eat meat very few times, depending on the availability and if I have enough money to buy when it is available. We get vegetables and fruits every day like avocados, oranges, and bananas.”

Ugali is packed full of carbohydrates, and is filling, but is nutrient-deficient unless vegetables or meat is added.

“We always have ugali, beans, vegetables, rice, cooked plantains, sweet potatoes, and cassava for lunch and dinner. We eat meat very few times depending on the availability and if I have enough money to buy when it is available. We get vegetables and fruits every day like avocados, oranges, and bananas.”

– Doris Chabruma, RCP mother

Ugali will keep a belly full for hours, but may not provide protein or many micro-nutrients. Global Volunteers’ RCP Program seeks to eradicate hunger – and by extension, stunting – in the Ukwega Ward. An essential step to doing that is to help families achieve food security. In order to see true, sustainable change, families must grow their own food. One cornerstone is the EarthBox Project, providing families with nutrient-rich vegetables. Two other major projects are providing packaged meals through our partner Rise Against Hunger, and helping RCP families raise chickens in coops for egg and meat that add dietary protein and fat that aids digestion.

Read more about the chicken coop project

“In order to see true, sustainable change, families must grow their own food.”

The EarthBox Project

Global Volunteers has been working with EarthBox since 2012 to provide high-yield, efficient container gardens to families and students. EarthBox® is a patented system that utilizes several different components to produce significantly better results than traditional in-ground gardens. EarthBoxes are excellent for growing vegetables in small areas as they can be set on tables. Pregnant women or women carrying babies on their backs, therefore, do not face the difficulty of bending over to tend to an in-ground garden. EarthBoxes are very easy to maintain in that they do not become infected with any soil-borne diseases or weeds. Additionally, they yield fast results.

An Earthbox takes up very little space and yields more than the same amount of land in an in-ground garden.
  • EarthBoxes provide nutrient-rich foods.
  • EarthBoxes are set on tables and are easy to tend to.
Volunteers in Tanzania help RCP staff plant seedlings and maintain EarthBoxes.

Through Global Volunteers’ Reaching Children’s Potential Program, mothers with a child or children under the age of two receive five EarthBoxes and pregnant women receive four. Seedlings are grown in the greenhouse in Ipalamwa and later transferred to the boxes. Peat moss is used as the growing medium for seedlings and coco peat, which we purchase in Tanga, Tanzania, for the growing medium in the boxes. Dolomite is also purchased locally. In Tanzania, we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, green peppers, spinach, and Chinese cabbage.   

With the help of donations received so far in 2020, 470 EarthBoxes were planted from May to July for RCP families. In September and October we plan to distribute 335 EarthBoxes to RCP families in Mkalanga and Lulindi. That is a total of 805 EarthBoxes planted and distributed from May to October.

With the help of donations received so far in 2020, 470 EarthBoxes have been planted and distributed to RCP families.

EarthBoxes provided to RCP families in our partner villages in Tanzania ensure families’ own source of vegetables.

Testimonies from RCP Mothers

Sifa Kifyasi, an RCP mother of three, says, “I am growing spinach. I hope garden boxes will be very helpful because we will not be going out to get vegetables. In that matter I will be getting vegetables every day and throughout the year since they are very important in our bodies as we have learned. I appreciate the help that this program has given to our children.”

Yunisi Chusi, an RCP mother of six, explains what she has learned about nutrition in RCP workshops, “I grow garden green peppers in the container garden and now they are in the stage of being harvested. So I usually add green pepper almost in every food that I cook and the food becomes tasteful with good smell. I did not harvest all of them at once, I only harvest it when I need to use it. Vegetables are very important to our health because they help our bodies to fight against diseases. Truly, before the workshops we were just eating the food so that our stomachs could be full but not to help the body. That is why we were just eating the food sometimes without vegetables or fruits and we thought it was ok, but it was not. So now we know the importance of eating vegetables.”

Children such as Irene (left) are receiving more nutrition since their parents enrolled in the RCP program (Yunisi Chusi, mother – right).

“Truly, before workshops we were just eating the food so that our stomachs can be full but not to help the body. That is why we were just eating the food sometimes without vegetables or fruits and we thought it was ok but it was not. So now we know the importance of eating vegetables.”

– Yunisi Chusi, RCP mother
  • These cucumbers are almost ready to be harvested.
  • Mothers of young children don’t need to bend over to tend to an EarthBox.

How You Can Help Improve Food Security for RCP Families

Global Volunteers’ partnership with EarthBox is a central piece of the overall Reaching Children’s Potential strategy to increase food security and eventually end childhood stunting in partner villages in Tanzania. Here’s how you can be a part of this important project to end hunger once we are able to have volunteer teams on the ground in Tanzania again:

  • Teach workshops on proper mother and child nutrition.
  • Help train RCP families how to plant, care for, and harvest EarthBoxes.
  • Help RCP staff maintain seedings until they’re ready to transplant into household gardens.

But today, before that time comes, you can provide an EarthBox, including growing medium, seedlings, and two replantings, to a Tanzanian family for $58. Each RCP family requires four EarthBoxes per year to supply micronutrients for children’s and mothers’ diets.

Donate an EarthBox to a family in Tanzania

Read more on Global Volunteers’ work and partnership with EarthBox:

EarthBox® Partnership Nourishes Mothers and Children in Tanzania

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
August 10, 2020/0 Comments/by Maggie Bjorklund
https://205eev2oa0jm1t4yb914s1nw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Earthboxes-5.jpg 810 1080 Maggie Bjorklund https://205eev2oa0jm1t4yb914s1nw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2014-GlobalVolunteersLogo-Web.png Maggie Bjorklund2020-08-10 10:00:002020-08-18 16:08:05EarthBox® Project Improves Food Security in Tanzania
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

You must log in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Partner Communities

  • China 66
  • Cook Islands 43
  • Cuba 115
  • Ecuador 87
  • Greece 67
  • Italy 54
  • Montana 42
  • Nepal 15
  • Peru 96
  • Poland 77
  • Portugal 42
  • South Dakota 8
  • St Lucia 57
  • Tanzania 132
  • Vietnam 42
  • West Virginia 24

Categories

  • Boomer Volunteers
  • Conversational English
  • Couples Volunteering
  • Culture and Traditions Worldwide
  • Development Impact
  • Family Volunteers
  • Free Time Options
  • Global Volunteers
  • Group Volunteering
  • Impact Stories
  • Individuals on Teams
  • Projects for Professionals
  • Reaching Children's Potential
  • Repeat Volunteers
  • Retiree Volunteers
  • Staff Worldwide
  • Student Volunteers
  • Uncategorized
  • Volunteer Voices
  • Women volunteers

Tags

alumni volunteers American Indian culture Appalachian culture best destination peru Care for children Caribbean island College groups Conversational English cook islands economy covid-19 covid-19 consequences Cuba people-to-people donate for children Earthbox gardens economic support Essential Services food insecurity Funding your fee Health and nutrition High school groups Labor projects lgbt program peru resume resume high shcool retiree service-learning share food Spring break summer volunteer program support children Support women teaching children teaching english team leader things to do peru top places to visit peru tourism cook islands tours peru travel peru volunteer benefits Volunteer impact work on reservations Work with youth youth volunteering

  • About Us
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff
  • Our Beginnings
  • Our Vision
  • Community Partners
  • Collaborators
  • Compare Us
  • Volunteer Vacations FAQs
  • Accountability and Agreements
  • Travel Risks
  • Impact and Outcomes of Service
  • Donate to Global Volunteers
  • Donate to a Volunteer
  • Money Matters – Explaining Your Service Program Contribution
  • Discounts & Fundraising
  • Alumni Center
  • News/Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Agreements
  • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Podcast
  • Volunteer Portal
  • Employment
Global Volunteers
375 East Little Canada Road
St. Paul, MN 55117-1628 USA
(800) 487-1074 | toll-free
(651) 482-0915 | fax
globalvolunteers.org
email@globalvolunteers.org

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Subscribe receive notifications of new posts and updates by email.

Global Volunteers - Partners in Development ® | © Copyright 2002 - Present Global Volunteers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Global Volunteers is an apolitical, non-sectarian, non-profit (501C-3) tax-exempt organization.
  • Send feedback about this web site and its administration.
Breastfeeding Workshop a Tenet of RCP Mothers Education One of the mothers in Tanzania who is encouraged by Global Volunteers to breastfeed Celebrating International Youth Day During a Global Pandemic
Scroll to top
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.